A European scientist seeking to make laboratory-grown brains has set out the ethical problems posed by his line of research – calling for "proactive scrutiny" of any clinical use.
Jürgen Knoblich, deputy director of the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, has already grown brain organoids for research purposes.
He has now published in Science setting out the ethical issues posed by his work and the development of other laboratory-grown organs.
He says that organoids are not "morally neutral" as they are grown from cells taken from human donors.
He says that keeping donors anonymous may not always be possible. This means that donors need to give explicit consent for work to be undertaken – but this needs to be a "broad consent."
He writes: "Establishing this type of consent requires the establishment of a rigid and to some degree invariable governance structure that protects the interests of the wide variety of stakeholders involved and is not driven by scientific needs alone."
He sets out a range of issues to consider if organoids are used for transplantation. These include unexpected risks and a shortage of clinical knowledge about such procedures.
He writes: "An interdisciplinary, cautious approach is therefore mandatory to enable the first organoid transplantations in an ethically sound way."
Last month Dr Knoblich revealed some of the findings from his brain organoids, stating that at up to 4 mm in size they contained structures corresponding to most regions of the brain.
They found the mini-brains developed different epigenetic features to real brains – but shared some features.
He said last night: "The development of organoids is unexplored scientific territory. As a researcher, I am fascinated by the huge potential of this technology.
"However, I also believe it’s my job to actively promote dialogue around responsible research and to engage the wider public in the discussion”.
Human tissues in a dish: The research and ethical implications of organoid technology. Science 20 January 2017 [abstract]
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